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கரிசல் கதைகள் [Karisal Kathaikal]
கரிசல் மக்களிடத்தில் அன்பு இருக்கிறது; 'பிரியமிருக்கிறது; பூமி வறண்டிருந்தாலும், மனசில் ஈரம் இருக்கிறது. வேட்டி கருப்பாக இருந்தாலும் 'மனசு வெள்ளையாக இருக்கிறது. 'உடம்பு அழுக்காக இருந்தாலும் நாக்கு சுத்தமாக இருக்கிறது.வானம் பார்த்த பூமியான இந்த கரிசல் மண்ணின் துயர கீதத்தை இசைக்கும் போது எங்களுக்குத் தாங்க முடியாத துக்கம் நெஞ்சை அடைக்கும். இந்த மக்களைப் பற்றி இதுவரை நாங்கள் சொல்லியதையெல்லாம் விட இன்னும் சொல்லாததே அதிகம் இருக்கிறது.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
17 people are currently reading
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About the author
கி. ராஜநாராயணன்
63 books176 followersகி. ரா என்று சுருக்கமாக அழைக்கப்படும் கி. ராஜநாராயணன் (Ki. Rajanarayanan) கரிசல் இலக்கியத்தின் தந்தை என்று கருதப்படுபவர். கோவில்பட்டியின் அருகில் உள்ள இடைசெவல் கிராமத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர். 1958இல் சரஸ்வதி இதழில் இவரது முதல் கதை வெளியானது. இவரின் கதையுலகம் கரிசல் வட்டாரத்து மக்களின் நம்பிக்கைகளையும், ஏமாற்றங்களையும், வாழ்க்கைப்பாடுகளையும் விவரிப்பவை.
கரிசல் வட்டார அகராதி என்று மக்கள் தமிழுக்கு அகராதி உருவாக்கிய முன்னோடி இவரே. சாகித்ய அகாடமி விருது, இலக்கிய சிந்தனை விருது, தமிழக அரசின் விருது, கனடா தமிழ் இலக்கியத் தோட்டத்தின் 2016ம் ஆண்டுக்கான தமிழ் இலக்கியச் சாதனை விருது உள்ளிட்ட தமிழின் முக்கிய இலக்கிய விருதுகள் பெற்றவர். 2016-17 ஆம் ஆண்டுக்கான மனோன்மணியம் சுந்தரனார் விருது கி.ராவிற்கு வழங்கப்பட்டது.
Ki. Rajanarayanan (Ki. Ra for short) was born in Idaiseval village in 1923. He dropped out of school in the seventh standard. He was appointed a professor of folklore at Pondicherry University in the 1980s. He held the title of Director of Folktales in the university's Documentation and Survey Centre. He was a member of the Communist Party of India and went to prison twice for his participation and support in the CPI organised peasant rebellions during 1947–51. In 1998-2002 he was a General council & Advisory board Member of Sahitya Akademi.
Ki. Ra.'s first published short story was Mayamaan (lit. The Magical Deer), which came out in 1958. It was an immediate success. Ki. Ra.'s stories are usually based in Karisal kaadu (scorched, drought stricken land around Kovilpatti ). He centres his stories around Karisal country's people, their lives, beliefs, struggles and folklore. The novels Gopalla Grammam (lit. Gopalla Village) and its sequel Gopallapurathu Makkal (lit. The People of Gopallapuram) are among his most acclaimed; he won the Sahitya Akademi award for the latter in 1991. Gopallapuram novels deals with the stories of people living in a South Indian village before the arrival of the British. It involves the migration of people escaping brutal kingdoms north of Tamil Nadu. As a folklorist, Ki. Ra. spent decades collecting folktales from the Karisal Kaadu and publishing them in popular magazines. In 2007, the Thanjavur based publishing house Annam compiled these folktales into a 944-page book, the Nattuppura Kadhai Kalanjiyam (Collection of Country Tales). As of 2009, he has published around 30 books. A selection of these were translated into English by Pritham K. Chakravarthy and published in 2009 as Where Are You Going, You Monkeys? – Folktales from Tamil Nadu. Ki. Ra. is well known for his candid treatment of sexual topics, and use of the spoken dialect of Tamil language for his stories (rather than its formal written form). In 2003, his short story Kidai was made into a Tamil film titled Oruthi. It was screened in the International Film Festival of India.
கரிசல் வட்டார அகராதி என்று மக்கள் தமிழுக்கு அகராதி உருவாக்கிய முன்னோடி இவரே. சாகித்ய அகாடமி விருது, இலக்கிய சிந்தனை விருது, தமிழக அரசின் விருது, கனடா தமிழ் இலக்கியத் தோட்டத்தின் 2016ம் ஆண்டுக்கான தமிழ் இலக்கியச் சாதனை விருது உள்ளிட்ட தமிழின் முக்கிய இலக்கிய விருதுகள் பெற்றவர். 2016-17 ஆம் ஆண்டுக்கான மனோன்மணியம் சுந்தரனார் விருது கி.ராவிற்கு வழங்கப்பட்டது.
Ki. Rajanarayanan (Ki. Ra for short) was born in Idaiseval village in 1923. He dropped out of school in the seventh standard. He was appointed a professor of folklore at Pondicherry University in the 1980s. He held the title of Director of Folktales in the university's Documentation and Survey Centre. He was a member of the Communist Party of India and went to prison twice for his participation and support in the CPI organised peasant rebellions during 1947–51. In 1998-2002 he was a General council & Advisory board Member of Sahitya Akademi.
Ki. Ra.'s first published short story was Mayamaan (lit. The Magical Deer), which came out in 1958. It was an immediate success. Ki. Ra.'s stories are usually based in Karisal kaadu (scorched, drought stricken land around Kovilpatti ). He centres his stories around Karisal country's people, their lives, beliefs, struggles and folklore. The novels Gopalla Grammam (lit. Gopalla Village) and its sequel Gopallapurathu Makkal (lit. The People of Gopallapuram) are among his most acclaimed; he won the Sahitya Akademi award for the latter in 1991. Gopallapuram novels deals with the stories of people living in a South Indian village before the arrival of the British. It involves the migration of people escaping brutal kingdoms north of Tamil Nadu. As a folklorist, Ki. Ra. spent decades collecting folktales from the Karisal Kaadu and publishing them in popular magazines. In 2007, the Thanjavur based publishing house Annam compiled these folktales into a 944-page book, the Nattuppura Kadhai Kalanjiyam (Collection of Country Tales). As of 2009, he has published around 30 books. A selection of these were translated into English by Pritham K. Chakravarthy and published in 2009 as Where Are You Going, You Monkeys? – Folktales from Tamil Nadu. Ki. Ra. is well known for his candid treatment of sexual topics, and use of the spoken dialect of Tamil language for his stories (rather than its formal written form). In 2003, his short story Kidai was made into a Tamil film titled Oruthi. It was screened in the International Film Festival of India.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 7, 2021
Excellent collection, and well translated too. The stories themselves tend to be mostly depressing as they chronicle the lives of people living in the Black soil region on Tamil Nadu, south of Madurai and east of the W ghats, well south of the Kaveri basin. Only rain is from the North East Monsoon and they can be a complete miss or bring bad floods when there are cyclones, so life is always a thin line between floods and famine.
February 5, 2021
One of the things that I really admire about my country is its diversity. There are innumerable cultures to delve into, numerous languages to communicate, and a variety of people with whom one can interact. These bring out a wide plethora of stories which have unique regional fragrances in them. Take for instance my latest read, ‘Along With The Sun’, which is laced with beautiful tales of Tamil Nadu’s black soil.
One assurance that I can provide you is that this book will keep you hooked. There are multiple stories, each exploring a different theme, written by a different writer. As such, the writing style and plots are unique in itself. No two stories are alike, but they do have a beautiful similarity in backdrop that binds them together – the black soil region of Tamil Nadu.
The stories revolve around subjects like broken dreams (‘Along With The Sun’), devotion (‘A Fierce Love For One’s Soil’), politics (‘Helpless’), rituals (‘Gruel For Rain’), and so on. The tales are well laid out, and do touch the inner chords of one’s heart. Special credit should be given to Ki. Rajanarayanan for the flawless editing and Padma Narayanan for the brilliant translation. The cover too is beautiful, reflecting the plethora of stories that can be found in its pages.
Though there is a ‘Glossary and Notes’ section towards the end, I felt an index of regional words with their meanings/ descriptions with the exact page number would have helped. Often, when I came across a regional word that I was not acquainted with (and there were several of them), I had to browse through ‘Glossary and Notes’ to comprehend it. Mention of exact page number where that word was defined would have been more helpful.
Nevertheless, I do recommend this book, not only to those who would like to connect with the regional flavors of the beautiful Tamil Nadu, but also to all those book lovers who are in search of good stories.
One assurance that I can provide you is that this book will keep you hooked. There are multiple stories, each exploring a different theme, written by a different writer. As such, the writing style and plots are unique in itself. No two stories are alike, but they do have a beautiful similarity in backdrop that binds them together – the black soil region of Tamil Nadu.
The stories revolve around subjects like broken dreams (‘Along With The Sun’), devotion (‘A Fierce Love For One’s Soil’), politics (‘Helpless’), rituals (‘Gruel For Rain’), and so on. The tales are well laid out, and do touch the inner chords of one’s heart. Special credit should be given to Ki. Rajanarayanan for the flawless editing and Padma Narayanan for the brilliant translation. The cover too is beautiful, reflecting the plethora of stories that can be found in its pages.
Though there is a ‘Glossary and Notes’ section towards the end, I felt an index of regional words with their meanings/ descriptions with the exact page number would have helped. Often, when I came across a regional word that I was not acquainted with (and there were several of them), I had to browse through ‘Glossary and Notes’ to comprehend it. Mention of exact page number where that word was defined would have been more helpful.
Nevertheless, I do recommend this book, not only to those who would like to connect with the regional flavors of the beautiful Tamil Nadu, but also to all those book lovers who are in search of good stories.
February 2, 2022
3.5/5
I liked a handful of the 20 shorts in this book. They were razor-sharp and cut through the clutter. But as someone who has always grappled with interpreting short stories properly, this book left me feeling confused and incomplete more than anything.
I liked a handful of the 20 shorts in this book. They were razor-sharp and cut through the clutter. But as someone who has always grappled with interpreting short stories properly, this book left me feeling confused and incomplete more than anything.
October 5, 2021
கரிசல் மண்ணின் வாழ்க்கையை வாழ்ந்த அனுபவம்..
May 22, 2023
Stories about a region where oppression, whether from the sun or society, is omnipresent. Stifling and sad, yet beautifully put together.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews